A.Roma Lifestyle Hotel Design and Art Collections (I)

A.Roma Hotel entrance

Writings and art speak to us across time and space. They inform us about the nature, people, societies and cultures, their interactions and their stories from different places and different moments in history. It is the written words that have shaped our history and traveled across millennia so that we may always reflect upon them. Literature and art, the core of our civilization, address all aspects of the human experience and tell us about our society in its entirety, not only about the rich and the powerful.

The East and the West developed independently but also influenced each other. We have known each other throughout the millennia and yet so often we are strangers. It is and always has been a complex and uncertain process to reach across cultures. Only through repeated attempts at cultural translation and open mindedness may we begin to understand each other.

The cross-cultural exchange of art and words forms the basis of the design of the A.Roma Hotel and its extensive art collection.

 

Silk Road

Silk Road art piece

At the entrance of the hotel, we have placed the Silk Road, a bronze abstract sculpture that resembles a larger-than-life silkworm cocoon. It symbolizes the simple aspiration of the A.Roma Hotel: fostering the meeting of eastern and western cultures.

It was via the Silk Road, over 2,000 years ago, that western and eastern civilizations started to exchange goods and ideas and to learn from each other. This cross-fertilization sparked a flourishing of world cultures and enabled them to develop by leaps and bounds. In our time, the A.Roma Hotel wants to reopen this platform, to facilitate a better understanding of ideas as well as of art and culture between the East and the West.

 

The Five Pillars

Arome lifestyle hotel logo

The five pillars design of A.Roma’s logo is inspired by classical Roman architecture. The number 5 not only represents humanity’s five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, but also represents the 5 most important aspects of a hotel experience. The number 5 symbolizes balance in western culture whereas the Chinese believe there are five basic elements, namely: water, metal, earth, fire and wood, that make up the universe. Five is also an important number for the different religions of the world. In Christianity, the number 5 represents the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch, as well as representing the Five Graces of God. In Islam, the Five Pillars of Islam are the foundations of everyday Muslim life. In Buddhism the number 5 represents the Five Precepts or Five Virtues, which constitute the basic code of ethics followed by its believers.

 

LDC Multinational Flags

LDC multinational flags

All of the LDC Hotels, the parent company of A.Roma, have six flags in front of our hotels to welcome our guests. The six flags consist of flags of the European Union and APEC countries, which together represent the meeting of the West and the East. Although both EU and APEC countries are organized based on economic reasons, we hope, in the not too distant future, these two multinational organizations will work beyond the liberalization of trade and investments toward the improvement of the quality of life for its citizens, toward world peace and to the eventual realization of “Pax Mundi” in place of the “Pax Romana” of two thousand years ago.

 

Dolce Vita and Tibetan Welcome Wish

A.Roma Hotel Tibetan welcome wish

When our guests first walk into the lobby of A.Roma, they will immediately detect a delicate fragrance, which is made from 100% natural essential oil formulated exclusively for the hotel. The scent, Dolce Vita or Sweet life, is a balance between eastern and western joyful flowers and luscious fruits. It is modern but retains a touch memory of Italian High Renaissance. It is refreshing but also with some hints of eastern mystical calm and tranquility.

Behind the reception desk, there are four welcoming Tibetan words. Tibetan is one of the oldest languages in the East. Read from left to right, the words are pronounced “Ja Shi Delek Pun Sum Tsok”. Ja Shi is auspicious. Delek is happiness. Pun Sum is fulfillment. Tsok is abundance. Together it is a Tibetan phrase to welcome and wish our guests well.

 

Face, Hand and Foot

A.Roma Hotel Face Hand and Foot Sculpture

The artwork in A.Roma embodies our philosophies and our attitudes toward work, culture and life.

In a dedicated space across from the reception desk, there are three oversized contemporary bronze sculptures. These statues of a face, two hands and a foot shown together represent the hotel’s working ethos.

The sculptures combine to show how one should approach work. The welcoming face and head express that we must first think and plan before we act. The hands mean we must be “hands on” in all of our endeavors. The foot shows that every project must be carried out one step at a time.

 

Dance to the Music of the Silk Road

music of silk road

 

Moving along toward the lobby bar area on the right hand wall there are two 20th century white sculptures of elegant ladies together with two modern interpretations of ancient Silk Road musical instruments: Pi Pa, the lute and Yue Qin, the moon fiddle. The juxtaposition of these four statues signifies the modern world still dances to the music of the ancient Silk Road.

 

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